Top 10 stories of 2006

Well, it's time for the holidays. It's hard to believe that 2007 is just days away! Along with the holiday celebrations, now is also the time of year when critics and organizations announce their favorite films of the year. That's always been a bit hard for me because I am so influenced by each film I see. So instead I thought I would reflect upon some of the news and events that happened this year that had an effect on indie film--and on me.

1. Day-and-Date

Early in the year, the first "day-and-date" experiment took place, as Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner released Bubble simultaneously in theaters and on DVD. All the articles were a buzz that this would change the course of indie film and how audiences would choose to see independent films. So what happened? The film made an estimated $1.6 million, with just over $70K on opening weekend. According to Magnolia Pictures president, Eamonn Bowles, the company shipped more than 100,000 DVD units, with few returns. While there was plenty of press beforehand, I have not heard much from the Cuban/Wagner team, although Magnolia Pictures (owned by Cuban/Wagner) has put out many titles this year that with appropriate marketing, may have served better in that format. This leads me to...

2. I Am a Sex Addict
At the 2005 Gotham Awards, Caveh Zahedi's I am a Sex Addict won the award for "Best Film NOT Playing in a Theater Near You." And it almost stayed that way when Zahedi's film was caught in a battle between Mark Cuban, IFC Films, and Comcast, over day-and-date distribution because Comcast would not Cubans two cable networks (HDNet and HDNet Movies).To summarize, Sex Addict was being released by IFC Films as part of their IFC First Take, where films play in theatrically on the same day they are available for ON Demand for Comcast subscribers. As a result, Mark Cuban pulled Zahedi's films from Landmark Theaters because it was competition. Despite his pleas, the film's theatrical release was cut short (but did get some free publicity). IFC First Take continues to release many of its films with Comcast but surprisingly, I do not see this marketing these films. Seems like a bit of a waste to me...

3. The Critics versus The Audience
Okay, so I know the real films that got slammed by the critics yet still did fantastic in the box office were studio films—Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest and The DaVinci Code but still it became abundantly clear that critics don't always get it right. To bring it back to indie films, I will point out that the well-loved Little Miss Sunshine was given a mere "C-grade" in EW which stated the film was "...not funny." Just weeks later, the film was on the cover being touted as a "surprise hit." The film still continues to do well and is nominated for several awards so I think the lesson learned here is, read the review but decide for yourself what to see.

Okay, those are the biggies so here are the rest in no particular order:

4. Evangelist Ted Haggard being outed by a male prostitute (if not for the documentary Jesus Camp, I would not have known who this guy was or what a HUGE deal this news was)
5. AIVF closing its doors
6. Mel Gibson's anti-semetic tirade (Okay, I know not really indie but some people argue that Passion of the Christ was an indie film)
7. Inconvenient Truth making a major impact in theaters and in people's minds [personal note: the climate crisis is real folks, learn all you can!]
8. The title song from Hustle and Flow ("It's hard out there for a pimp...") winning Best Song at the Oscars
9. The deaths of Robert Altman and Adrienne Shelly
10. You. Okay, a little sentimental but the fact that you visit indieIN means that you are supporting indie film. Thank you and please continue to help spread the word that "there's more out there..."!

Have a great holiday and go see an indie film!

Long live indie film,

Michelle